He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.' "

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

- Mark 4:1-20

Yesterday we read that after Jesus chose the Twelve, they went into a house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house.  Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"   Here in Mark's Gospel, Jesus begins to preach in parables.  It is another sign of the spread of His fame, and that great crowds come to see Him for all kinds of reasons.  As in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the parable of the Sower is the first He preaches.  Let us note His call, "He who has ears, let him hear!" indicating that those who will be drawn to find His message do so from an internal receptivity.

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand;  Lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.' "  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10.   My study bible explains, citing the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, that Isaiah's prophecy doesn't mean God causes spiritual blindness in those who would otherwise be faithful.  Rather, this expression is a figure of speech common in Scripture which reveals that God gives people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).  He has blinded means that God permits a self-chosen blindness.  Isaiah foresaw that blindness; hence the prophecy.

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."   Christ reveals Himself to be the promised Messiah, the sower, foretold in Isaiah 55:1-13.

If we take a close look at this parable, we observe that each one of the stages of the seed, as told by Christ, is possible in each of our lives.  In fact, there may be times when we -- even the faithful -- experience each one of the things Christ warns about.  We each have this seed sown in us:  through Scripture, through Christ's Incarnation in the world, through our baptism, through the sacraments and ministries and worship in the Church.  The Holy Spirit is "everywhere present and filling all things," as an Orthodox prayer tells us.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke about the one sin that would not be forgiven, that of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, against the work of God in the world.  But, as my study bible pointed out, following the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this does not mean "never" -- repentance renders even that sin forgivable.  So it is with the conditions indicated in today's reading.  The word might be sown in our hearts and dragged away immediately because of the evil in the world, but this does not mean there won't come a time when we find the power of that word again for ourselves.  We might endure in the word only for a time, but upon later maturity in life, rediscover our need for what we have missed, and what might have helped us earlier.  We may struggle with our faith, and fall away when adversity presents itself.  But we'd do well to remember that even St. Peter stumbled, when he denied Christ three times while Jesus was on trial (Matthew 26:69-75).  But if we follow St. Peter's example, we repent and return for forgiveness, and continue our spiritual journey of faith with Christ.  The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things ensnare and consume many people, and yet those same people may find the emptiness and betrayal of such false gods let them down, and then turn to Christ, and set their lives on a better and more sure footing for what ails us spiritually -- and to find what their souls really deeply need.  We should always remember that we are capable of turning to Christ, who turns no one away.  At this time of Lent, it is important to turn and consider Jesus' words about bearing fruit, and about our own responsibility for "spiritual hearing."  We turn now to this time for making room for God and the practices that increase our faith:  prayer and fasting, Lenten services, a time to remember how much we need God.  It is a good time to consider repentance, and turning back to God, for this is exactly what this time is for in the Church calendar, as we look toward Easter and Resurrection.  Let us remember these words and His seed are always here for us; there is no time like right now to start to listen and hear -- and be healed.